Method of carding railroad freight-cars



(No Model.)

C. W. CUSHMAN.

METHOD 0F GARDING RAILROAD FREIGHT CARS.

No. 316,527. Patented Apr. 28, 18.85.

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FOR RETURN CARDS ONLY.

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CHARLES W. CUSHMAN, OF BUFFALO, NEWT YORK.

METHOD OF CARDING RAILROAD FRElGl-l'l'uCv/RSl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 316,527, dated April 28, 1885.

Application filed January 2, 18S-l.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GHARLns W. GUsHMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Method of Garding Railroad Freight-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved system\ inafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and letters of reference marked thereon, which form a' part of this specification. l

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical cross-section of my improved double label or card holder. Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofthe same; and Fig. 3 represents a series of cards such as are used in connection with the label-holder for designating the route, destination, Sto., of the car.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The label-holder A, which I propose to use in practicing my Inethod,is preferably made of malleable iron and at one casting. It is provided with two compartments, B and C, one of which is preferably larger than the other. Each of the compartments is provided with a cover, b, adapted to be closed by means of a spring applied in any ordinary manner that may suggest itself to the mechanic, and, .if desired, may be secured by a lock. The front of each of the compartments is provided with an opening which will permit the inspection of the cards, while at the lower edge of each of the compartments an open space, a, maybe formed to facilitate the removal of thc cards from the compartment.

The upper portion, B, ofthe rack is intended to be used for return-cards, while the compartment C is intended for billing-cards only.

(No model.) A

Each railroad company adopting thesystem should provide its agents with cards of suit- .able size containing the name ofthe company Vand printed directions as to the route to be traversed by the carnpon which the cards are used.

In order to fully explain the nature of my system, we will take an example, and suppose that a car belonging to the W'abash, St. Louis St Pacific Railroad Company has been loaded in the city of St. Louis and it is desired to send the same to Bostonmia Canada Southern Division ofthe Michigan Central Railway, New York Central St Hudson River Railroad, and the Boston St Albany Railroad, and the car, after Ydischarging its load, is to be returned by the same route. The billing-card,(shown at No. 4,-Fig. 3 ofthedrawinga) which has printed thereon the name of the shipping-road, the shipping-point, and point of destination, and may have further printed thereon a blank form for date of departure, number of car, contents,

, and other matter desired, is inserted in the lower compartment of the rack, when the car is started outward bound, and the car is sent east upon the WV., St. L. 8U l?. Ry. to Canada Southern Junction. Upon the arrival of the car at this point the proper oflicial inserts card No. l, Fig. 3 of the drawings, having printed thereon the name of the road-viz., M. C. Rynthat the car is now to pass over on itsway to Boston, together with the instruction that the car, when unloaded, must be returned to the shipping-road by the route named-viz., the Canada Southern Junction. The car is then sent to Black Roclr,(l3uffalo.) Upon the arrival of the car at Black Rock return-card No. 2 is inserted in front of card No. 1 in the upper compartment of the rack, said card No. 2 having printed upon it the name of the road, which in this instance is the N. Y. G. t H. R'. R. R., over which the car is to pass on its way to Bos ton, together with the name of the road-- viz., Canada Southern Divisionof the M. C. Ry.over which the car is to pass after leaving the N. Y. C. t H. R. R.. R. upon its return trip, and the route by which it is to reach that road. The car then continues upon its course to Albany, where ICO side of the car by means of screws.

return-card No. 3, Fig. 8 of the drawings, is inserted in front of card No. 2, said card No. 3 bearing the name of the road-the B.l

& A. R. R.-over which the car is to pass on its way to Boston, together with the name of the road-viz., N. Y. O. & H. R. R. R.-over which the carV is to pass after leaving the B. & A. R. R. upon its return trip, and the point at which it is to pass from one road to another. The car is then sent to Boston, where it is unloaded. Card N o. 3 is still in front in the upper compartment of the rack, and indicates the road by which the car, when homeward bound, is to be returned to Albany. At Albany card No. 3 is removed and card No. 2 exposed, indicating the further course of the carwviz., N. Y. C. 8v H. R. R. R.-by which the car is to be returned to Black Rock. Gard No. 2 is here removed and card No. 1 eX- posed, and indicates the route, cia M. C. Ry. and W., St. L. 8L P. Ry. ma Canada Southern Junction, by which the car is to be returned to St. Louis, the point from which it started.

It will be seen that the car outward bound has taken its load from St. Louis to Boston, traversing several roads in its course, and has been -returned to St. Louis without delay or mistake as to its route. Should the car from any cause be diverted from its proper course, an inspection of the card in the rack will reveal the error and insure its prompt return to the proper route.

The rack or label-holder is secured to the Should it be considered desirable, the rack may be so constructed as to be operated from the side instead ol' having the covers at the top, as shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I.

the shipping from and direct return to a designated point of a car, consisting in securing to a car a billing-card indicating the shipping and terminal points of a car and the ownership of the same, and also a series of other cards, each indicating a line of road over which the car is to travel, with instructions to what road and by what route the car is to be returned, said cards being arranged in the order of the roads or sections thereof following each other in the course the car is to travel in passing from one terminal point to another.

2. The method of labeling or carding cars to facilitate their direct return to the shipping point, which consists in employing a billingcard indicating the shipping and terminal points of the cars trip and the ownership of the car, said card to be applied to the car at the shipping-point and retained upon the car throughout the trip and until its return to the shipping-point, and a series'of other cards, each indicating a line of road overwhich the car is to travel on its way from the shippingpoint to the point lol" destination, and indicating the point at which the car is to leavesaid road on its return-trip and the line of road which it is to take at said last-named point, the cards of said series to be placed upon the car in succession one upon another, so as to expose one only at a time, the card indicating a particular line of road to be traversed as the car passes from one road to another outward bound being placed on the car when the car reaches said line, and said cards to be removed in reverse order one at a time, the card indif eating a particular-line of road to be taken as the car passes from one road to another when outward bound being removed asthe car passes from said line when homeward bound, all substantially as set forth.

C. NV. CUSHMAN. Witnesses:

C. W. BARNEs, W. G. CUsHMAN. 

